Kiss It?

We were at the ICubs game on Saturday night.  Nathan got online and found some pretty awesome seats - front row down the first base line.  At one point, James must have scraped his knuckle on the cement wall in front of us.  He complained a little bit and showed it to me.  A little red, but no worse for wear.  I asked him if he would like me to kiss it.  He said yes.  As I was pulling his hand towards me to kiss it, my wonderful son Harrison says "My butt hurts.  Will you kiss it?"  This devious smile on his face said it all!  I was horrified.  The couple next to us was trying not to laugh and I don't think that my family around me was trying at all.  They were just laughing.  Chris called Harrison over (he was scared he was in trouble - I had given him a very serious look) and Harrison explained - in detail - how he had seen a little girl say that to her dad on America's Funniest Videos.  He went on to say it was just a joke and he was still concerned and confused as to why mom didn't think it was funny.  

Tired

James spent the night again with us last night.  Bennett LOVES this.  It means that he gets to sleep in the office in the big bed.  And it takes him forever to get to bed because he is rolling around with all of the room he has.  Really cute!

Anyway, I got all three boys to bed and was sitting down to read my book.  I expected Harrison and James to do a little talking and giggling, but I wasn't prepared for "Mom!"  "Mom!".  I got up and went into the bedroom.

Harrison - "Mom, I am really tired and want to go to sleep.  But James won't stop laughing."

James - (giggling) "I'm sorry Harrison, you are just so funny!" (more giggling)

As I stifled my laughter, I politely asked James to try and be quiet and shut the door.  Harrison was asleep about 3 minutes later.  I guess he was telling the truth!  

Memorial Day weekend

We hit Davenport this past weekend.  It was a nice trip.  We left Saturday morning, which we normally don't do (usually Friday night).  Chris had to work at Hy-Vee Friday night.  Have I mentioned that Chris has THREE jobs now, while I have one?  And when I say one, I mean I stay at home and watch soap operas and eat bon-bons.  

Chris works full time for EW Wylie recruiting truck drivers to drive flat bed trucks across the country, part time for Hy-Vee as a cash counter on Tuesday and Friday nights AND part time as a usher/ticket taker for the Iowa Speedway on weekends that there is a car race.  He is a busy man as I still make him do all of the laundry and change the cat liter!  Poor guy...

Anyway, we went to Chris' cousin Todd's graduation party on Saturday evening.  That was fun.  There were a couple of kids there that Harrison played with.  It is fun to watch him interact and a little scary to let him go.  They played hide-n-go seek so they were running around the house and stuff.  He is getting so big!!!!

Sunday, Greg and Pam had a cook out.  Pam's sisters and their families came.  All seven cousins were there.  That is always a good time!  The boys played bags and we all just sat around for the most part.  I like holidays like that!  

We came home Sunday night with plans to go to an ICubs game on Monday.  That didn't materialize, but Chris did get the basketball hoop up.  My Gma DeBolt gave it to the boys last year and it has just been sitting there, begging to be put together.  Mission accomplished!

The three day weekend led to an eventful day today.  Kari went back to work for the end of the school year so I got Will back for the next 7 days or so.  And he brought his brother!  That is 5 boys in my house under the age of 4.  It was a busy day - to say the least.  I only got to watch part of The Young and the Restless! 

Mother's Day Tea

Harrison had a Mother's Day Tea at his school on the 8th.  It was really sweet.  When we got there, all of the kids were sitting in a circle.  They had a little performance for us!  This is Harrison pointing at me while singing "Skidamarink."  LOVE that smile!
After the performance, the kids went around and told their mom's what made them special.  Harrison was last.  He followed suit and said "Because she gives me hugs and kisses" like a lot of the other kids.  At least that is what I thought.  His teacher, Miss Margaret, stopped me later and told me that they practiced what they were going to say ahead of time and that she asked Harrison to go first.  And she was glad because he said 'hugs and kisses' and that started the group off on the right foot.  Ahhhh - he is such a good kid!!!!!

Then it was time for the tea.  Harrison was a gentleman and took me to my seat where he presented me with a flower!

Then he served me little cucumber sandwiches and tea.  Very cute.  After all of the moms were served, the kids got to have their snack.  It was very fun and the kids were just so excited to do this for their moms.

School is over for the year.  They had a day at the park on the 14th and then the last day was the 22nd.  It was a good year.  Harrison never got a bad report home and he always wanted to go!  I guess that makes me lucky, but it also makes me very proud.  He seems to be one of those kids that lets his steam off at home, but follows the rules at school.  I hope it stays that way!  Next year we go 4 days a week.  Can't wait!

Oh Rainy Day

It was icky and rainy here all day.  Rainy days aren't all bad but today was miserable because the temp was really annoying.  It was super humid and it kept going from hot to cold in the house.  I almost shut the house up and turned on the air conditioning.  It got me to thinking about a rainy day earlier this month that the boys enjoyed.  Everyone likes puddles, right?

It all started like this - Bennett wanted to watch the rain.  

Harrison often wants to join Bennett - especially if he has a good idea first!  Harrison, of course, always takes the idea to the next level.  The screen is open and they are sticking their heads out of the window to get their hair wet.

This soon led to "Can we?!?!  Can we?!?!  Can we?!?!" from Harrison.  So out they went.

It was brotherly love for awhile.  Aren't they the cutest?!

Then they got dirty.  I have the funniest video of Harrison splashing really big and getting Bennett really wet and dirty in the face.  Bennett cries a little and walks toward me.  Then he suddenly turns to Harrison and yells "NO HARRISON!  NO THANK YOU!"  Attitude of a 2 year old.  I try not to mess with it to often!

They played outside, in the rain, for over an hour.  It was so fun to watch.  Those are fun rainy days!  Here are some more pics.

Harrison insisted on making a mud puddle.  Why does he have to get as dirty as possible?
Bennett continues to be as photogenic as possible.  Stinking cute!

Although, these two pics don't even look like the same kid!

And here was the end result.  Two very dirty but very happy boys!

Straight to the bath tub...

Much Ado About Nothing

Not much going on in our household as of late.  Harrison finishes school tomorrow with a giant ice cream party at 11:00 am.  I bet he will be real hungry for a nutritious lunch.  School has been great for him.  I don't get a lot of feedback from his teachers, but he seems to come home everyday in a good mood and has stories about his friends.  Today he told me he was the kid and Will was his dad and Lauren was the mom and they went on a picnic and he didn't have a time-out because his dad Will doesn't believe in them.  What a riot! 

Harrison has been learning about bargaining lately.  Today he got in trouble (pinched Bennett) and he decided to come to me with a plan.  "I think that I need about (pause) hmmm, (pause), 5 minutes to think about my choice and then I will be ready.  You will play with me when I am ready, right?"  Mostly he tries to figure out how to get his way, which is very typical, but very annoying.  I pick and choose my battles, but somehow he seems to get his way most of the time.  He is very convincing.  And very cute!

Bennett continues to be a terror.  Right now he thinks his body is the funniest thing ever.  "Watch, mommy!"  "Look at this, mommy"  And every time I watch or look he is shaking his head fast or jumping over a toy or trying to do a spectacular cart-wheel.  And every time he is looking for a laugh from me.  It is very hard not to give in.  He is very cute!

Overall, I guess I am just a big pushover and my kids are going to be holy-terrors because they are always getting there way! 

 

Oh - and speaking of holy, I was reading Tome's blog the other day and it reminded me that Harrison said something very funny and VERY inappropriate last Sunday.  As as preface to the story, Harrison is fascinated by all of the portrayings of Jesus in the church.  So, we were walking up to church and there is a water fountain out front that has just recently been turned on.  Since Bennett was with us (he usually is not)  Harrison wanted to show it to him.  They were looking into the water and what not and Harrison's eyes were looking around.  Suddenly he noticed that a statue of Jesus is at the head of the fountain and he said "Oh my God!  It's Jesus!"  I was mortified as there were others standing around the fountain.  I quickly stifled my laugh and bent down to remind him that we say gosh.  He looked at me and said "Oh yeah (pause), but do you see Jesus?  I see Jesus!"  We quickly left the fountain and proceeded inside!    

But seriously,...

Bennett is almost like a whole new person lately.  He still does all of the crazy things he has always done, he just does them a whole lot better and then some!  He is still way adorable and has a smile that melts me almost every time.  He just recently got himself and Miles in trouble with that smile.  It was nap time and I usually sit in the chair while Miles and Bennett get settled in bed.  Instead of getting settled, Bennett was being all squirrely and making Miles laugh.  This all culminated by Bennett standing on his bed acting like a gorilla.  In turn, Miles stood up in his bed and started mimicking Bennett.  So at this point I have two frustratingly cute monkeys that are supposed to be going to sleep.  I looked at Bennett to tell him to stop and he flashed me that famous smile.  I couldn't keep a straight face.  This little episode got Miles sent back to my bedroom to take his naps.  We will see if they are allowed to be in the same room again - it might take some time!

Here are some more of his wonderful talents:

• He is getting more and more acrobatic.  Last weekend he was balancing between two landscaping rocks saying "Watch, Mom!  Watch, Dad."  He also likes to go off the couch hands first and balance like a wheel barrow.  And he dives, head first, into the pack-n-play.  That was scary the first time I saw it.  It was like watching someone attempt a somersault but not tucking their body into themselves.  Crazy kid! 
• He walks up and down the deck stairs without holding the rail.
• He runs with his elbows tucked up into his sides and says 'Run, run, run...'  Way cute.  Like a mini man on a mission.
• He comes up with more words and phrases everyday.  The newest one is "Oh, o.k."  He says this anytime I give him a direction to go do something and he is agreeable to the idea.
• He uses the potty.  By this I mean he goes and stands in front of the toilet and lifts up his shirt.  He then stares at the water and waits.  After he is 'done' he looks at me or Harrison and says "Bye-bye potty" and we flush the toilet.   
• He is constantly telling me to "Come here, Mommy."  He then usually says "Watch this!" and laughs at whatever wonderful feat he has managed.

I just don't know what to do!  I think he has grown 2 inches since his 2 year well baby visit.  His face has elongated and he looks older!!!!!  How did this happen?!?!  I miss my baby, but I am completely in love with this wonderful toddler!

Oh - and the reason for the blog title:

But seriously, will he ever stop drooling?!?!

No! Harrison's!

Now here is a funny phenomenon.  Don't give anything green to Bennett.  We have different colored plastic dishes that the boys use for dinner, snacks, etc.  I handed one to Bennett the other day and he turned it away.  "No green!" he said.  I was a little confused, but didn't want to argue over it at the moment so I switched it out and gave him a different color.  This morning, I gave him a green cereal bowl and I again got "No green!"  I had already poured the milk into the cereal so I pressed the issue and said that he was using that bowl.  He looked at me and said "No!  Harrison's!"  

Looking back on some different situations, I have noticed that Bennett gives everything that is green to Harrison.  He got 2 funny looking balls for his birthday from Pam and Greg.  One was green and one was yellow.  Right away he said 'Harrison' and gave the green one to Harrison.  This has also happened with balloons and some of our garden tools.  I wonder if Bennett will have a favorite color of his own someday? :)

Sneaky!

So Chris and Harrison were just at Hy-Vee.  Did you know that Hy-Vee gives a free balloon to every child if they go over to the Floral Dept and ask for one?  Well, anyway, they were at the Hy-Vee that Chris works at and they were getting a balloon.  The lady blew up an orange one for Harrison and gave it to him.  He said thank you and then asked if he could have a green one for his brother.  She said sure and then he looked at his dad and whispered "The green one if for ME!"  Little sneak!!!!!!!!

Grandpa

My grandfather passed away 1 week ago.  The nursing home called Gma sometime around 3:30 am and she and my Uncle Randy went down to see him.  He was having some trouble breathing and getting comfortable.  He passed away around 4:40 am on April 24th.  His obituary was very nice and his passing was a blessing.  And I mean that if you can not beat cancer then you are better off not suffering.  That part was the blessing.  But I am very sad that he died.  I believe my Gpa was too young to die.  He was only 80 and he had so many more good years to be on this earth.  This last year was hard though and he was not happy.  Soon after he had his kidney removed the cancer was found and it just went downhill.  He didn't have the strength or feeling of wellness to do anything and that made him miserable.  

But, those are not the things that I will remember.  I will remember how unhappy I was as a child that I couldn't have a horse.  Oh, I wanted a horse!  But, grandpa didn't like horses and that was the end of the discussion.  I don't know if I ever got the whole story but something in his youth put a distaste for horses in his mouth.  But, I suppose he made up for it by calling me his favorite granddaughter.  That is how he introduced me to everyone and I was always so proud.  Most people knew I had a brother and 2 male cousins, but he didn't remind them I was his only granddaughter.  He just called me his favorite granddaughter!  I will also always be reminded of the woodworking he did in his retirement.  I have several pieces through out my house; my roll top desk, my bed (our wedding gift), tables in the living room and probably the most special is the cradle that Harrison, James and Bennett used.  Someday my grandchildren will use it and it will make it all the more special!  I will remember that he was stubborn (understatement!) and that I didn't inherit any of that from him!  I will remember him getting thrown by a cow and then years later I was pinned by a cow and I remembered being grateful I wasn't thrown like him!  He had broken ribs, I had a few tears.  There are so many memories and I could go on.  Thankfully those memories will overshadow the last year.  Good-bye grandpa.  I miss you.

23rd Psalm - read by my dad at the burial:

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

He leadeth me in the paths of rightousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

I will fear no evil: For thou are with me:

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my like,

and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.